Pakistani girl shot by Taliban moved to UK

BIRMINGHAM, England (KABC) -- A Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban was moved on Monday morning to England for medical treatment.

Malala Yousufzai, 14, was flown out of Pakistan in an air ambulance. She is being treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in central England.

The teen was attacked by the Taliban for championing the education of girls and for criticizing the militant group. She will require long-term care for the physical and psychological effects of trauma she received. The Pakistani government has said it will pay for all hospital expenses.

The Taliban vowed to kill her because she promotes "Western thinking."

Malala was attacked as she was returning home from school in Pakistan's northwest a week ago. Two of her classmates were also wounded in the attack and are receiving treatment in Pakistan.

Pakistani doctors at a military hospital earlier removed a bullet from Malala's body that entered her head and headed toward her spine. Doctors believed Malala "has a chance of making a good recovery," said Dave Rosser, the hospital's medical director.

The hospital, which is also home to the Royal Center for Defense Medicine, has extensive experience handling British soldiers injured in battle and advanced equipment that would help Malala's treatment, Rosser said. The Royal Center is the primary receiving unit for military casualties returning from overseas, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital is designated as one of the country's 16 major trauma centers which specialize in treating severe gunshot wounds, major head injuries and road accident victims.

Pakistanis held rallies for Malala throughout the country, but most have only numbered a few hundred people. The largest show of support by far occurred Sunday when tens of thousands of people held a demonstration in the southern port city of Karachi organized by the most powerful political party in the city, the Muttahida Quami Movement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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